Podcasting
Radio without the waves
If you’re starting OCR’s AS Media Studies course this year the chances are you will study new media technologies. The unit will test your general understanding of the role new media technologies play with both audiences and institutions. To prepare for the unit you should aim to follow the trends in digital media, thinking not of the technology itself but instead how it alters the experience of consuming and creating media content. You will eventually develop expertise in one area in order to prepare a case study. Examples of case study topics are: music and the internet, console and PC gaming, and interactive digital television. Your media teacher may well suggest others. In approaching the unit you should remember that similar principles apply to all new media technologies and as such you should seek to link technologies together.
This article will introduce podcasting using an approach I encourage my own students to use, involving the organisation of information under five headings: technology, institutions, audience, issues and the future. There is, of course, a fair amount of overlap, but this system is useful for organising your thoughts.
Podcasting is a term used to describe audio content (usually spoken word material - radio programmes, in effect) that is ‘broadcast’ via the internet. The downloadable audio file - commonly in MP3 format - can be stored on a portable digital audio player, such as an iPod, whenever and wherever the listener chooses. Rather than having to be physically close to the point of transmission to receive the content, any listener with an internet connection can listen. DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radio may have been high profile news over the past few years, but podcasting could render it an unnecessary broadcasting technology.
The term ‘podcasting’ is derived from the name ‘iPod’ and the word ‘broadcast’. Podcasting isn’t restricted to iPods but has become the accepted generic term for distributing audio via the internet. Interestingly, a few years ago, at the height of the controversy surrounding Napster and peer to peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, journalists were using the term ‘peercasting’ to describe the distribution of what is essentially radio content via P2P networks. Viruses, spyware and the threat of legal action has meant the value of P2P networking is for now going largely unexploited. It is a useful illustration of how even the language of new media technologies changes rapidly.
For media institutions podcasting represents both a challenge and an opportunity. As with many new media technologies, podcasting is democratic; anyone with a microphone, a computer and a place on the internet to put the files for others to download can podcast. In some ways, like blogging, it removes power from traditional media institutions as it challenges their role as gatekeepers; now radio can be made by anyone, without the need for broadcasting licences and specialist equipment.
Podcasting could be a way of reaching audiences more effectively, however. Virgin Radio has been experimenting with podcasting, as has the BBC, and some suggest that the popularity of digital downloads in general means it is likely to become more accepted. The process of downloading also means institutions can be more accurately informed about the consumption of their content (unless you consider the chance of sharing content and unlistened-to material - some suggest up to 85% of TV programmes recorded on a VHS VCR are never watched). The prevalence of digital audio players and broadband internet connections has meant that there is the capacity for the rapid growth of podcasting, something institutions are bound to want to exploit.
For audiences, podcasting fits into the pattern set by many other new media technologies: personalisation, on-demand content and portability. As with Sky+, listeners to podcasts can download ‘programmes’ to their portable audio players and then listen to them whenever they wish. There is no longer a need to be tied to a predetermined schedule, just as there is no requirement to be anywhere special; the small and portable nature of digital audio players means they can be used virtually anywhere. With podcasting, listeners make an active choice to consume a programme rather than doing so purely because ‘it is on’, in the car in traffic for example.
Podcasting has a good chance of becoming well established following the acceptance of digital music. Apple’s iPod and the iTunes store have both played a central role in bringing cultural approval to downloading digital music, something that was once tainted with the impression of illegality. Audiences are now technologically and philosophically ready to embrace podcasting. The ability to subscribe to podcasting via iTunes has helped to further establish the format, although whether or not they are as popular as the hype would suggest is a matter of some debate.
With podcasting several issues arise. Copyright is a persistent problem in relation to the internet and digital media content, particularly if content can be transferred to portable players without restriction. Scheduling is another consideration: no longer will audiences be tied to tuning into a programme when the station wants them to; with podcasting content is available on-demand. Another issue many identify with technologies such as podcasting is the fragmentation of audiences. Broadcasting of all types is becoming increasingly orientated towards providing for specialist or niche interests (’narrowcasting’ is a more accurate term), making it difficult for media institutions - and by extension advertisers - to reach wide audiences. Also, there is a danger that too much content can be produced if there is complete freedom at the point of production and distribution; how will audiences know what to consume in the face of so much choice? After all, multi-channel television demonstrates that quality doesn’t necessarily come with quantity.
Initially a fairly geeky pursuit, podcasting is now becoming mainstream and although lots of the content that is podcast may well be very poor quality, many would argue that the freedom to produce and distribute anything is healthy and helps to provide media diversity. This is particularly important in the context of the increasing concentration of media ownership.
In the future, mobile phones with storage could be the key to podcasting. Mobile penetration is very high and once equipped with high speed connectivity (via 3G or WiFi), using your mobile to receive radio may be the established norm. In principle, any media content can be podcast: as most new mobiles can play video, TV programmes or even films could be delivered in this way, providing the ultimate in portable, personalised, on-demand media.
Glossary
Blogging - A ‘blog’ is a web log or online diary. Blogging is the act of writing a blog.
MP3 - A computer file format for compressed digital audio.
Peer-to-peer network - A peer-to-peer network is one in which users are directly connected to each other, enabling the sharing of digital content such as audio files.
